History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c29.20

v2.c29.20

After the seat of government was removed to Bîdar, a little over sixty miles to the north-east of Kulbarga, by Ahmad Shâh I., A.D. 1422-1435, the new capital was adorned by edifices worthy of the greatness of the dynasty, but which are now greatly ruined. Among these the most magnificent appears to have been the madrasa or college erected by Khwâja Mahmûd Gâwân (or Gilanî), the faithful but unfortunate minister of the tyrant Muhammad II. It was about 205 ft. by 180 ft., with lofty towers at the ends of the east face, and must have been a striking building, three storeys in height, with its towers—if not the whole façade—covered with enamelled tiles. It appears to have been finished two years before his death, in A.D. 1481, and in Ferishta’s time was one of the most complete and flourishing establishments of its class in India.¹ Unfortunately, when the place was besieged by Aurangzîb in 1656, a quantity of gunpowder was stored in it and exploded, either accidentally or by design, so as to ruin one wing. Since then the building has been disused, but so far as can be judged from such imperfect information as is available, it must have been one of the most splendid buildings of its day. In the citadel the most entire structure, perhaps, is the mosque, which is 295 ft. in length by 77 ft. deep, with nineteen arched entrances in front, and inside eighty round piers, each 4¼ ft. in diameter, which support the groins of the roof. In the middle, enclosing the *mihrâbs* and a pulpit of three steps, is an apartment 38 ft. square, which is carried up as an octagon a storey above the roof of the mosque, and covered by a large dome. Parts of the roof—which was covered by some eighty-four small domes—have fallen in. The ten tombs of Bahmanî kings, about 5 miles north-east from the city, are of the like pattern and of considerable splendour, the largest being that of Ahmad Shâh I., who died in 1435. They are not much ornamented, but are structurally good, and impressive by their massive proportions.